This is the first in a Roll Call network of “sponsored blogs” on specific areas of policy interest. Topic A: Defense, like the others to follow, will serve as a digital meeting place for industry and policy experts to exchange ideas and viewpoints on the most pressing questions facing Congress and the White House.

Topic A: Defense is brought to you by the Boeing Company, which will provide a portion of the content you find here.

While supported by a single sponsor, Topic A will be edited and managed by an independent team of editors hired by Roll Call — Chris Riback and Taegan Goddard. They are digital media experts and journalists who bring a range of knowledge and social media experience to the effort.

Riback (@chrisriback) is host of “Conversations with Thinkers,” high-level and engaging conversations on politics, business, international affairs, tech, culture and more. Conversations can be found at chrisriback.com. He also serves as an occasional guest host on the Cumulus Radio Networks, and previously served as managing director at a global financial services firm.

Goddard is the founder of Political Wire (@politicalwire), one of the most successfull news aggregation sites on the web. He also curates the popular Wonk Wire (@wonkwire) blog on rollcall.com. He was previously the chief operating officer of a prominent New York City investment firm and a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor.

Some of the content on Topic A: Defense is from Roll Call and some is original to this blog. The sponsor-generated content is clearly marked as such.

The most important content on this site will be your ideas, comments and suggestions for further reading. Please consider Topic A: Defense a destination for you and your professional colleagues to explore together.